Ecosystem restoration leaders from Indonesia, Cameroon and Brazil receive €1m Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity

LISBON, Portugal, July 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Three inspiring individuals have been announced by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as winners of the 2023 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, in recognition of their leadership restoring and protecting vital ecosystems: Bandi "Apai Janggut", customary community leader (Indonesia), Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet, campaigner and agronomist (Cameroon) and Lélia Wanick Salgado, environmentalist, designer and scenographer (Brazil). 

The Jury, chaired by former Federal Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, selected these three individuals out of 143 nominations from 55 countries. The winners were chosen for their leadership and tireless work over decades to restore vital ecosystems including forests, landscapes and mangroves, and protect land with and for the benefit of local communities. They have all been committed to acting locally to restore and protect the land and biodiversity critical for the healthy functioning of our whole Earth and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Bandi aka "Apai Janggut" is an elder and customary leader of the Indigenous Group of Dayak Iban Sungai Utik Long House, located in the rainforests of western Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo. Bandi has led his community in fighting for recognition of their traditional land rights for over 40 years. In 2020, the Indonesian government gave the Dayak Iban community legal recognition and ownership of 9,500 hectares of land.

Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet is an advocate for gender equality and community rights to forests and natural resources from Cameroon. For over 30 years she has fought for the rights of women to secure land in tenure, ultimately to play a role in restoring vital ecosystems, end poverty and tackle climate change.

Lélia Wanick Salgado is a Brazilian environmentalist, designer and scenographer. In 1998 she co-founded the Instituto Terra, dedicated to the restoration of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Instituto Terra has been responsible for planting more than 2.7 million trees and restoring more than 700 hectares of degraded land. In collaboration with smallholder farmers, an additional 2,000 have been reforested, recovering 1,900 water springs.

Angela Merkel, President of the Jury, says: "Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The health of our planet and people depends on them, and healthy ecosystems will help us combat climate change. The Jury selected these three individuals in recognition of transformational work happening in the Global South, led by communities who are most impacted by climate change but have done the least to cause it. We believe the recipients will continue to inspire others and generate further positive climate action throughout the world."

In 2022, the Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed upon by UN member states, highlighting the urgency of halting biodiversity loss, restoring natural ecosystems and protecting indigenous rights on a global stage.

The three individuals, who will share the €1 million Prize equally, can use the funding to help scale their efforts or support new restoration projects.

António Feijó, President of the Board of Trustees of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation says: "We pay tribute to the work and dedication the three recipients have shown in their efforts to restore vital ecosystems which are crucial to mitigate climate change. They exemplify outstanding climate leadership, achieving significant impact while working in close harmony with nature and local communities We are honoured to support the recipients in expanding their efforts to protect the planet and humanity, and we believe their stories should inspire hope."

The Prize for Humanity is given to individuals and organisations who are leading society's efforts to tackle the biggest challenges facing humanity today – climate change and nature loss. With an award of €1 million, the Prize recognises outstanding contributions to climate action and solutions that inspire hope and possibility.

This is the fourth year in which the prize has been awarded. In 2020, its first year, the prize was awarded to Greta Thunberg; in 2021 it was awarded to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy; and in 2022, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were joint recipients.

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Notes to editors

The recipients are available for interviews.

The Prize winner is selected by an independent expert Jury, composed of members with expertise in Earth system science, climate action, environmentalism and climate justice from scientific, technological, political and cultural realms. Jury members may be available for interview.

About the recipients 

Bandi "Apai Janggut" is an elder and customary leader of the Indigenous Group of Dayak Iban Sungai Utik Long House, located in the rainforests of western Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo.

Bandi is known as the Sungai Utik Forest Guardian for his decades-long defence of the environment from illegal logging, palm oil production and corporate interests. He has led his community in fighting for recognition of their traditional land rights for over 40 years. In 2020, the Indonesian government gave the Dayak Iban community legal recognition and ownership of 9,500 hectares of land. His community has been recognised as an Environmental Savior by the Indonesian government and awarded the UN Development Programme's Equator Prize.

Cécile Bibiane Ndjebet has spent three decades advocating for gender equality and community rights to forests and natural resources and has restored 600 hectares of degraded land to date. In 2021 she was selected as an Advisory Board member of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. In 2022 she was named 'Champion of the Earth for Inspiration and Action' by the UN Environment Programme and received the 'Wangari Maathai Forest Champions' Award by Collaborative Partnership on Forests.

Cécile is leading efforts to influence policy on gender equality in forest management across 20 African countries. She is an active member of the UN Women Major Group and a well-known advocate for women's land rights within various global women's networks. Her work includes mobilising rural women in mangrove restoration along the coastal area of Cameroon.

In 2001, Cécile founded Cameroon Ecology, a national NGO committed to improving management of natural resources, local governance, and economic development. In 2009, she founded the African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF), a regional network of 17 countries from West and Central Africa. Ndjebet is also a committee member of The Forests Dialogue and the Civil Society Advisory Group, co-chair of Civil Society College of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, and a member of other multilateral groups and initiatives focused on forest conservation, restoration and gender equality.

Lélia Wanick Salgado is a Brazilian environmentalist, designer and scenographer. She studied architecture and urban planning in Paris. Her interest in photography began in 1970. In the 1980s she started working on the conception and design of most of Sebastião Salgado's photographic books and all his exhibitions.

At the end of the 1990s, Lélia and Sebastião created Instituto Terra, an NGO dedicated to reforestation, conservation and environmental education in the Rio Doce valley region of Brazil. The institution, located in the Atlantic Forest biome, has already planted almost 3 million trees, and has become a world reference in terms of ecosystem restoration and environmental recovery and preservation.

About the Prize for Humanity

The €1 million Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity recognises individuals and organisations leading society's efforts to tackle the single biggest challenge facing humanity today: climate change. It recognises outstanding contributions to climate action and climate solutions that inspire hope and possibility.

The Prize for Humanity is a manifestation of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's commitment to putting sustainability at the heart of everything it does. With an annual award of €1 million, the Prize funding has been used to support people facing the worst impacts of climate change and to help scale climate solutions.
https://gulbenkian.pt/en/the-foundation/gulbenkian-prize-for-humanity/ 

About the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, established in 1956, is a philanthropic institution that is dedicated to the promotion of arts, charity, science, and education. It is committed to full independence and the preservation of its legacy. Its main priority is the development of a sustainable society that provides equal opportunities to all. The Foundation directs its activities from its headquarters in Lisbon and its delegations in Paris and London.
https://gulbenkian.pt/en/

SOURCE The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation